DAILY NATION Monday January 19, 2015 Cofek seeks commuter fare cuts BY NATION CORRESPONDENT A consumer lobby group has demanded immediate reduction of commuter fares following a fall in oil prices. The Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) said the recent price drop announced by the Energy Regulatory Commission calls for PSVs to follow suit and reduce fares by between 5 and 10 per cent. “In our cost-assessment, fuel accounts for more than 40 per cent of operational costs. With an average 10 per cent reduction in fuel pricing, we agree with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure that fares must come down immediately,” said Cofek Secretary-General Stephen Mutoro in a statement yesterday. Operational expenses He argued that after evaluation of cost-recovery, taxes, insurance and consumables such as tyres and lubricants, a reduction of a minimum 5 per cent for in-county and 10 per cent reduction for inter-county commuting was mandatory. Cofek disagreed with PSV operators who have argued that reduction in fares was not possible despite a drop in fuel prices because their operational expenses had gone up. Mr Mutoro said Cofek had sought a meeting with the Ministry of Transport, the National Transport and Safety Authority, Matatu Welfare Association and the Matatu Owners Association to discuss the possible reduction in commuter fares. In the meantime, we urge police to ensure that all PSV’s clearly display applicable maximum peak and off-peak fares,” said Mr Mutoro. National News 11 CARNAGE | Highways authority asked to build footbridges and pedestrian fences to stem deaths Armed policemen guard a scene of accident at Mahiga Springs on the Nyeri-Karatina highway yesterday. A lorry that was carrying beer overturned. The police officers worked hard to keep at bay a large crowd that had gathered at the scene, hoping to loot. JOSEPH KANYI | NATION Nairobi roads claimed 300 lives Mombasa Road, Waiyaki Way, Thika Highway and North Airport Road top the notoriety list BY EUNICE KILONZO @eunicekkilonzo Ekilonzo@ke.nationmedia.com lives between them. The National Transport and Safety F Authority (NTSA) lists them as Mombasa Road, Waiyaki Way, Thika Superhighway and North Airport Road in Nairobi. The trend placed Nairobi on top of the list of 10 counties with the highest road carnage numbers in 2014. North Airport Road, in particular, our city roads emerged as the most notorious accident zones last year, claiming nearly 300 has been identified as the most risky road in the country. It is less than two kilometres and stretches between the turnoff from Mombasa Road and the Taj Mall. This has prompted Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau to direct the Kenya National Highways Authority to move with speed to avert more deaths. “The authority will erect footbridges and pedestrian fences to make pedestrians use designated crossing points. We will work with the governments in the 10 most affected counties to reduce deaths,” he said. The top 10 worst counties are Nai- robi (561), Nakuru (156), Kiambu (113), Kisumu (95), Mombasa (90), Makueni (82), Machakos (82), Kakamega (77), Bungoma (69), and Kilifi (57). Mr Kamau was speaking yesterday during a thanksgiving service in Nairobi for the drop in road death rate nationally from 3,218 in 2013 to last STATISTICS Breakdown of the 2,907 fatalities Pedestrians: 1,340 Vehicle passengers: 642 Boda boda (riders): 391 Drivers: 268 Pedal cyclists: 104 Boda boda (passengers): 162 Source: National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) year’s 2907. “The 311 lives saved in 2014 is something commendable, but then again over 2,900 lives perished on our roads. This is a bitter-sweet mo- ment, more needs to be done. We are all responsible to reduce road carnage.” NTSA Director-General Francis Meja said 5,140 people were seriously injured in accidents last year, compared to 6,289 for 2013, representing a drop by 18 per cent. He attributed the drop to measures such as coming into force of the authority as required by the United Nations, self-regulation among passenger transport saccos, which has improved compliance with traffic laws and regulations, use of digital speed limiters and alcohol breath tests. The authority also conducted in- tensive road safety campaigns that included advertisements in the media over the December holidays. The climax of the ceremony, held at Kenyatta International Convention Centre, was the lighting of 2,907 candles for each of the lives lost on the roads last year.